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By Marni Rose McFall
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A project involving gender-affirming care dolls with removable genitalia for children as young as four has come under intense national scrutiny and sparked fury from House Republicans.
MyGender Dolls is a program from the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health at the University of Minnesota. The dolls are a "first-of-their-kind therapeutic play approach," designed for gender-diverse children aged four to 10, according to information published on the MyGenderDolls website.
The official account for House Republicans on X wrote, "The adults behind this are sick freaks."
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's office told Newsweek the state government was not involved in the project and the dolls were not being introduced in Minnesota schools.
Newsweek has reached out to MyGender Dolls and the University of Minnesota via email for comment.
This is what to know about the dolls, and the backlash that they have received.
Why It Matters
The backlash to MyGender Dolls comes at a time when transgender people have been under increased attention and public scrutiny since the 2024 presidential campaign. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has rolled back federal protections and policies relating to transgender people.
In January 2025, he issued an executive order saying it is "the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female." He has targeted gender-affirming care for transgender youths and has pushed for transgender women to be banned from playing women’s sports.
On Sunday, Trump shared an AI-generated image of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins’ face superimposed onto her body, after making jokes about Mulvaney’s 2023 partnership with Bud Light, highlighting how transgender people in America are open to public scrutiny.
U.S. public sentiment, however, has shown through polling that the issue of gender-diverse children remains deeply divisive, especially pertaining to healthcare, participation in athletics and whether identity is solidified at birth. A Washington Post-KFF Poll found 57 percent of U.S. adults believe gender is determined by birth sex, while 43 percent say it can differ.
A February 2025 study by Pew Research Center also found more Americans backing restrictions for trans people compared to three years earlier, and less supportive of laws designed to protect them.
In comparison to 2022, Pew's 2025 study found that more U.S. adults said they support or strongly support laws and policies that:
- Prohibit healthcare experts from providing care tied to gender transitions for minors (up 10 percentage points)
- Mandate that trans athletes compete on teams matching their birth sex (up 8 points)
- Require trans people to use public bathrooms matching their birth sex (also up 8 points)
- Outlaw public school districts from teaching lessons on gender identity in elementary schools (up 6 points)
What Are MyGender Dolls?
According to information on the MyGenderDolls website, the dolls are toys designed for "gender-diverse children…and the clinicians and educators who show up for these kids every day."
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The dolls are "built to help children tell their stories and see themselves represented," and provide "developmentally appropriate, evidence-informed resources that didn’t exist before," says the site.
The majority of the website is not currently active, apart from a waiting list sign-up.
Who Created the Dolls?
The dolls were created by two academics, G. Nic Rider and Dianne R. Berg. Both are associate professors at the University of Minnesota. Berg is an Associate Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health. Rider is an associate professor and licensed psychologist at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health and the Director of the National Center for Gender Health.
Both have published research about transgender and gender diverse children, including papers titled Talking About the Anti-Trans Sociopolitical Climate with Transgender and Gender Diverse Children and Their Caregivers, and Support Transgender and Nonbinary Children and Adolescents: Condemning the Traumatizing Statements of the U.S. White House’s Proclamation.
In the spring of 2023, the MyGender Dolls project won an Early Innovation Fund grant from the University of Minnesota.
According to information published on the university’s website, the grants are up to $10,000 to "advance early-stage innovations," for "short-term projects."
Information about the project, listed on the university's website, states that the study will "further develop and systematically test" a "novel" and "culturally responsive" intervention for transgender and gender diverse children, alongside their caregivers, to "advance health equity and justice."
It is not clear how much money the project would have received from the grant.
Will These Dolls Be Put in Schools?
The dolls will not be used in public schools.
A statement given by Rider and Berg to Eyewitness News read in part: "The MyGender Dolls will not be in public schools this year."
"The MyGender Dolls are a therapeutic tool for use by licensed professionals. All licensed professionals will undergo a required training before being able to use the MyGender Dolls in their therapeutic practice. There is no set launch date determined at this time," the statement continued.
The office of Walz, a Democrat, told Newsweek by email: "The governor has no connection to this program. It was not developed or funded by the Minnesota Department of Education and is not being implemented in Minnesota schools under the Walz administration."
The spokesperson added: "This entire story has been manufactured by right-wing media to distract from President Trump’s flailing economy and never-ending war."
The Backlash Over MyGender Dolls
The dolls have been criticized online, including by Republican voices.
The official account for House Republicans on X wrote, "Taxpayer-funded 'MyGenderDolls' with removable, swappable genitals are coming to Minnesota schools this fall for kids as young as four. They’re designed so that 'gender diverse' preschoolers can play with different body parts and 'realize all the options.'"
"The adults behind this are sick freaks," read the post, which has been viewed 50,000 times.
On Monday, conservative advocacy group Defending Education filed a complaint with the departments of Education and Justice requesting an investigation into the project. The group argued that any use of MyGender Dolls in schools without parental notification or an opportunity to opt out could violate the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment and parents’ rights under the First and 14th Amendments.
It also cited Trump administration executive orders concerning gender identity in schools.
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, wrote on X: "In no world should children ever be taught their genitalia is 'removable'."
Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, wrote on X: "They always target kids. It’s gross."
There has also been pushback against the backlash. Moe Davis, the retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former administrative law judge, shared the post from the House Republicans account, and wrote: "Republicans working to misdirect the attention of gullible voters so they’ll ignore the fact that Republicans have made them sicker, poorer, and scareder."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick, Trevor Davies, Edward T. Cummins and Mike Hirst.
Update 07/29/26 06:19 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's office.
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